218 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



" In order to avoid trapping more lions the traps were 

 baited with small bits of meat which it was thought would 

 only be attractive to hyenas or jackals. Four of the traps 

 were set near the skinned carcasses of two small wart-hogs 

 in a sandy ravine some four hundred yards from camp. 

 Another trap was set close by within the mouth of a large 

 burrow into which a few fragments of meat had been cast. 

 During the night a party of three or four lions visited the 

 baits and sprung the traps at the carcasses. Their tracks 

 were perfectly preserved in the dry sand of the ravine. 

 Finally one of the lions in investigating the burrow which 

 had been baited was caught by one of the toes of a forepaw. 

 After thrashing about in the sand, he made off through the 

 dense bush growing on the sides of the ravine. In the morn- 

 ing on my visit to the place I found him by trailing on the 

 hillside some two hundred yards from where the traps 

 were set. He threatened me with deep growls and thrashed 

 about in an effort to escape. The sun was still very low 

 and shone directly in my eyes when I was in a position free 

 enough from bushes to make a shot possible. I shot at him 

 in this unfavorable light twice without much apparent 

 effect. He then reared up on his hind legs and drew the 

 trap up near his side. I fired again when he was in this 

 position and then he disappeared in the bushes. He could 

 not be seen lying dead or wounded, and we could not with- 

 out foolhardy risk venture into the thicket for fear he was 

 still there, and very angry. Luckily Rainey was near by, 

 returning from a morning's hunt with the hounds. With 

 the pack we entered the bush, and they at once picked 

 up the trail. When we reached the spot where the lion had 

 taken his stand, we found the trap broken apart, one of the 



